General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) SVP Sells $7,499,895.82 in Stock

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4 %

GD stock opened at $262.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.98.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10,664.7% during the 4th quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 6,952 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.